Latest / Spain Today - Last Spanish News / 02.13 - Spain Today News 18 November 2025

Transcript

02.13 - Spain Today News 18 November 2025 · Spain Today - Last Spanish News

• 0:00
  Welcome to Spain Today, your quick and clear summary of the
• 0:03
  latest news from Spain in English.
• 0:05
  Today is 18th November 2025. If you want to stay informed
• 0:09
  without spending hours reading the headlines, this is your
• 0:12
  place. Before we start, make sure to
• 0:14
  hit follow so you don't miss any of our upcoming episodes.
• 0:18
  Now let's dive into today's news.
• 0:21
  What an absolute mess of conflicting data points we have
• 0:24
  today. It's really something, isn't it?
• 0:26
  Yeah, this deep dive is necessary because it feels like
• 0:29
  Spain is operating under 2 completely different realities.
• 0:33
  On one hand you have the government presenting this
• 0:35
  extremely optimistic 4 year economic outlook.
• 0:38
  Right, forecasting high growth, everything's looking.
• 0:41
  Out. Exactly.
• 0:42
  And then at the same time, the political opposition is
• 0:44
  detailing what sounds like a national crisis among young
• 0:47
  people talking about deep social anxiety and, you know, crippling
• 0:51
  financial barriers. It is a dizzying high wire act.
• 0:54
  We're looking at a system where the big headline numbers, the
• 0:56
  macro numbers look strong, but the foundations, especially for
• 1:01
  anyone under 30, seems severely compromised.
• 1:03
  So today we'll be exploring that act, that contrast between the
• 1:07
  macro optimism and what they're calling micro preparity.
• 1:10
  Then we'll move into the latest on a major public works
• 1:12
  corruption case and a pretty critical diplomatic visit from
• 1:16
  Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky.
• 1:18
  Sounds good. Let's start with the
• 1:20
  opposition's diagnosis, specifically the proposals from
• 1:24
  the PP leader Alberto Nunez Fedo.
• 1:26
  He's really framed his entire critique around these two
• 1:29
  concepts, precarry dead vital and procarry dad emotional.
• 1:33
  OK, let's unpack that vital precarity.
• 1:35
  He's trying to put hard data to that feeling of being stuck,
• 1:39
  right? What numbers did he actually
• 1:40
  cite to back that up? Well, the numbers are frankly
• 1:43
  alarming and they suggest the problem starts really early.
• 1:46
  Figgio pointed out that Spain is the second EU country with the
• 1:49
  highest rates of child poverty and school failure.
• 1:52
  The second highest. The second where it really hits
• 1:55
  home is when you connect education to the job market.
• 1:58
  A staggering 27% of people under 30 only have basic education,
• 2:02
  the ESO. And the European average is
• 2:04
  what? It's just 15%.
• 2:06
  So that's 12 point gap is just enormous.
• 2:09
  That's a massive divergent. It creates an immediate skills
• 2:12
  gap, an opportunity gap, and I imagine when you look at the
• 2:15
  jobs they can get, the picture gets even worse.
• 2:18
  It does. I mean, this is probably the
• 2:20
  single clearest metric of this vital precarity.
• 2:23
  We're looking at a 66% rate of temporary contracts for young
• 2:27
  people. 66% so 2 out of three young workers have no stability.
• 2:31
  None, and on top of that, 39% of them are working part time,
• 2:35
  which is triple the rate of the rest of the working population.
• 2:38
  Wow. If you want the most depressing
• 2:40
  figure of all, it's this. 36% of everyone under 30 has no labor
• 2:46
  income at all. That figure, 36% with 0 income.
• 2:49
  That's what makes the government's optimism so hard to
• 2:52
  square. Faggot pointed to the biggest
• 2:54
  barrier right housing. He called it the great economic
• 2:57
  pandemic for this generation. You did.
• 2:59
  He noted that housing prices have risen more than double what
• 3:01
  salaries have in the last seven years.
• 3:02
  So how did he propose to fix that bottleneck?
• 3:06
  His approach was twofold. Tax incentives and supply.
• 3:10
  On the tax side, he proposed a big cut in the VAT or IVA on
• 3:14
  housing for anyone under 35. He dropped it from the usual 10%
• 3:18
  down to 4%. But here's the clever part.
• 3:21
  The mechanism that 4% wouldn't be due upfront, you would be
• 3:26
  deferred, paid off over 15 or 20 years with the mortgage.
• 3:30
  That's a crucial detail. So it doesn't eliminate the tax,
• 3:33
  but it cuts down that huge shrink of cash you need just to
• 3:36
  get in the door. That's often the biggest
• 3:38
  barrier. Exactly.
• 3:39
  But you know, deferred debt doesn't fix the supply issue,
• 3:41
  which is the real structural. Problem, right?
• 3:44
  And on supply, he pushed for urbanistic reform to build more
• 3:47
  affordable housing faster. And this is where it gets a bit
• 3:50
  controversial. He cited the peak housing boom
• 3:53
  years 2006 to 2008. Oh wow.
• 3:56
  He said Spain had the capacity to build between 650,000 and
• 3:59
  700,000 homes a year back then, and that restoring that capacity
• 4:03
  could create 75,000 jobs. Wait, hold on, is comparing
• 4:06
  today's need for affordable housing to the production levels
• 4:09
  during the absolute peak of the housing bubble?
• 4:12
  Is that really a valid comparison?
• 4:14
  That 2006 era LED straight to a financial crash.
• 4:17
  That is the critical question. You have to ask.
• 4:18
  The context is completely different.
• 4:21
  In 2006 that was speculative building.
• 4:23
  Today the need is for protected subsidized housing.
• 4:27
  Just boosting output doesn't solve the problem, right?
• 4:29
  He also wants to bring back the Cuenta Ahoro Vivienda, the
• 4:32
  housing savings account, which would have IRPF income tax
• 4:36
  deductions to help people save for a deposit.
• 4:38
  OK, so that covers the vital precarity.
• 4:41
  Now let's pivot to the other part, the emotional precarity.
• 4:43
  This sounds deeply disturbing. It is this is where the
• 4:46
  discussion shifts from economic policy to public health.
• 4:51
  FAHO connected all that anxiety and lack of a future to a really
• 4:55
  sobering statistic. What was it?
• 4:57
  6.5% of young people between 12 and 20 years old have attempted
• 5:02
  suicide, he argued. This distress is made worse by
• 5:05
  the what he called the cruel mirror of social media and that
• 5:08
  led to his digital protection plan.
• 5:10
  So what's in the What are the big regulatory hammers he wants
• 5:13
  to bring down on these platforms?
• 5:14
  There are 5 main points. They're pretty aggressive.
• 5:16
  First, no network access at all for minors under 16.
• 5:20
  Second, mandatory age verification for everyone, plus
• 5:24
  content labeling for anything inappropriate, violent or
• 5:27
  sexual. 3rd and this is interesting, absolute night
• 5:31
  blocks and maximum time limits on apps.
• 5:34
  To try and enforce better sleep. I guess exactly 4th, directly
• 5:38
  limiting the addictive scroll that the algorithms push and
• 5:41
  finally giving the CNMC, the market competition watchdog, way
• 5:45
  more power to supervise and sanction these companies.
• 5:48
  So on one side we have the opposition detailing this crisis
• 5:52
  of, you know, both economic and psychological insecurity.
• 5:55
  But then today the government approves a report that paints a
• 5:58
  completely different reality 1 of sustained economic strength.
• 6:02
  And this is where we have to connect the dots.
• 6:03
  The government approved its new economic forecasts, and they
• 6:07
  also signaled a pretty major political shift.
• 6:09
  How so? They're rebranding the Quadro
• 6:11
  Macroeconomic, you know, the traditional macroeconomic
• 6:14
  framework. They're not just calling it the
• 6:15
  Quadroeconomico. OK, why is dropping one word a
• 6:18
  political statement? Because it's an admission that
• 6:21
  past growth wasn't trickling down fairly by formally
• 6:24
  including microeconomic variables now, like poverty and
• 6:28
  inequality, they're saying we have to measure if this growth
• 6:31
  is actually helping real people. I see it's a promise to track
• 6:34
  the things Fisheaux is talking about.
• 6:35
  Exactly. But looking at the core numbers,
• 6:38
  the forecasts themselves are incredibly robust.
• 6:41
  How robust are we talking? Very strong.
• 6:44
  They're projecting growth above 2% every single year through
• 6:47
  2028. For 2025, they've actually
• 6:50
  revised it upward to 2.9%. Which keeps Spain ahead of the
• 6:53
  other big European economies, right?
• 6:55
  It maintains that leadership position.
• 6:57
  Then it hovers around 2.2% in 26 and two point 1% in 27 and 28.
• 7:03
  So if the growth is that strong, what does that mean for job
• 7:06
  creation because that's the real test against that 66% temporary
• 7:09
  contract rate? They're forecasting an average
• 7:12
  of 400 to 50,000 new jobs per year, and they expect this to
• 7:15
  slash the unemployment rate down to 10.5% this year and all the
• 7:19
  way down to 9% by 2028. 9% would be huge.
• 7:22
  That's nearing pre financial crisis levels.
• 7:24
  It would be a massive turn around.
• 7:26
  And this optimism is backed up by money.
• 7:29
  They approved a much higher spending ceiling, the Tecco de
• 7:32
  Gasto, for 2026. Right, the spending ceiling sets
• 7:35
  the budget. How big is the increase?
• 7:37
  It's set at 212 thousand €26 million.
• 7:41
  It's an 8.5% increase, which is a powerful fiscal signal.
• 7:44
  It is, but it's still so hard to shake that tension between a 9%
• 7:48
  unemployment projection and the 36% of young people with no
• 7:52
  income right now. We need to see that macro
• 7:54
  success translate. We do.
• 7:56
  OK, let's move on to justice the latest developments in the
• 7:59
  alleged public works rigging scandal, which definitely
• 8:02
  dampens some of that optimism. For sure, this is the
• 8:05
  investigation often linked to the bigger Coldo case around the
• 8:08
  former transport minister Jose Luis Savolas.
• 8:11
  We're talking about alleged illegal commissions and public
• 8:13
  works contracts. The big news is that the Supreme
• 8:16
  Court judge Leopoldo Puente, lifted the partial secrecy on
• 8:19
  one part of the case. What prompted that?
• 8:21
  He received a detailed report from the UCO, the Civil Guard
• 8:24
  Special Unit, about the assets of a man named Santos Serdan.
• 8:28
  Sir Don is a key figure in the governing party structure, so
• 8:31
  that immediately raises the stakes.
• 8:33
  What did lifting the secrecy reveal?
• 8:36
  It LED straight to the formal imputation.
• 8:38
  They're now officially Investigados A3 high level
• 8:41
  executives from the huge construction firm at Chiona.
• 8:45
  So they've been formally brought into the investigation.
• 8:48
  Yes, and they've been summoned to testify on December 3rd about
• 8:52
  the alleged rigging that happened when Avalos was
• 8:54
  transport minister. Who are the three executives?
• 8:56
  Shuste Vicente Pellegrini, who is the former director of
• 8:59
  Acchiona Construction. Manuel Jose Garcia Alconcho, who
• 9:03
  was director of the South Zone in Africa, and Tomas Alarte
• 9:07
  Sanz, the director for the North Zone.
• 9:09
  And what's the core allegation? What was the mechanism?
• 9:12
  The UCO report talks about the apparently undue adjudication of
• 9:15
  contracts. The investigation suggests that
• 9:18
  well that bribes were paid to influence who won these
• 9:20
  lucrative public bids, often at inflated prices and.
• 9:23
  What does this mean for the company?
• 9:25
  For Akshona itself. This is a massive step.
• 9:29
  Well, the focus is on these individuals for now.
• 9:31
  The sources say Exuna itself is on the verge of imputation as a
• 9:35
  legal entity. So the whole company could be
• 9:38
  charged. Exactly, and that would shift it
• 9:40
  from individual crime to systemic corporate failure,
• 9:44
  which could mean huge fines and restrictions.
• 9:46
  OK, Let's pivot from domestic politics to international
• 9:50
  commitments. These also put big demands on
• 9:54
  that Tecco de Gasto, we talked about.
• 9:56
  Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in Madrid today.
• 9:59
  Yes, his third visit since the Invasion, and this one is really
• 10:03
  high stakes. It's symbolic, of course, but
• 10:05
  the main goal is urgent military.
• 10:08
  Aid His agenda was packed right trying to maximize impact.
• 10:11
  Absolutely. He started the morning at the
• 10:13
  Congress, received by the heads of both chambers, signed the
• 10:16
  Book of Honor with glory to Ukraine.
• 10:18
  But then, crucially, he went to meet with Spanish defense
• 10:21
  industry companies. Like Indra?
• 10:23
  Exactly, which tells you this is about specific procurement, not
• 10:26
  just general government support. And then the meetings with the
• 10:28
  King and the Prime Minister. Yes, lunch with King Felipe the
• 10:31
  6th at Zarzuela, but the real centerpiece was the meeting with
• 10:35
  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at Moncloa.
• 10:38
  And before that, they did a joint visit to see Picasso's
• 10:41
  Granica at the reign of Sophia. Wow, choosing Guernica that
• 10:46
  sends a powerful message about the horrors of war.
• 10:49
  A very powerful one. It really underscores the moral
• 10:52
  weight of Skain's commitment. And Spain has been keen to
• 10:55
  reaffirm its unwavering commitment.
• 10:58
  How does this visit fit into the longer term aid structure?
• 11:01
  We're talking about billions, aren't we?
• 11:02
  We are. This visit reinforces the 10
• 11:05
  year security agreement they signed about a year and a half
• 11:07
  ago. That deal committed a billion
• 11:09
  EUR just for 2024 and could reach 5 billion by 2027.
• 11:14
  That's a huge, huge fiscal commitment it.
• 11:16
  IS and it's part of that high spending ceiling.
• 11:18
  On top of that, Spain recently joined the NATO PRL program,
• 11:22
  which is basically a fast track to buy US weapons specifically
• 11:25
  for Ukraine. And this all comes at a really
• 11:27
  tough time for Ukraine on the battlefield.
• 11:29
  The timing is critical. He's on a European Tour.
• 11:31
  He's just in Greece and France. But the military reality is
• 11:35
  grim. Russia is reportedly making
• 11:37
  rapid advances on the Zaparia front, and the fighting for key
• 11:41
  cities like Pokhrovsk is intensifying.
• 11:44
  The aid is needed now. And the visit is also happening
• 11:47
  while there's trouble for him back home in Kiev.
• 11:49
  Unfortunately, yes, and this is essential context.
• 11:52
  It's happening during a big corruption scandal, the Castle
• 11:54
  Midas. It involves several ministers
• 11:57
  and a close associate of Zelensky.
• 11:58
  'S right from his old production company.
• 12:00
  Exactly. It's about alleged bribes
• 12:02
  related to public energy contracts, which is constant
• 12:05
  drain on public trust during a war.
• 12:08
  We've covered a remarkable amount of ground today.
• 12:10
  We've got the official government forecast saying Spain
• 12:13
  will lead Europe with strong growth and falling unemployment,
• 12:16
  all backed by a huge spending budget.
• 12:19
  And yet at the same time, we have the opposition's data
• 12:22
  showing a national crisis of vital and emotional precarity
• 12:25
  for young people, with things like a 66% temp contract rate
• 12:29
  and a housing crisis. That tension, that gap between
• 12:32
  the numbers on paper and the experience on the street, that
• 12:36
  is the story's thing right now. It really is.
• 12:38
  The government says it's new economic framework is designed
• 12:41
  to make sure that macro growth actually reduces the inequality
• 12:45
  we've been talking about. So for you, the listener, the
• 12:48
  thing to really think about is this.
• 12:51
  How do we close that gap given Spain's strong economic
• 12:55
  forecast? What specific policies beyond
• 12:58
  just, you know, a deferred housing tax will actually make
• 13:01
  sure those 450,000 new jobs a year translate into a stable
• 13:05
  permanent contracts for young workers instead of just feeding
• 13:08
  that 66% temporary rate? Because that disparity signals a
• 13:12
  major structural risk. It's a huge risk and fixing it
• 13:16
  is probably the single greatest challenge facing the Spanish
• 13:18
  economy today. That is the ultimate test for
• 13:21
  the coming years. Thank you for joining us for
• 13:23
  this deep dive into the latest news from Spain.
• 13:25
  We'll be back tomorrow with more essential summaries.